Bowling-pin.



IIIIIIIIII APPLICATION ElLED E E B 2 8 I l 9 l 6.

moan]: MILLER, or APPLETON, 'wrsconsm.

' BOWLING-PIN.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

Application filed February 28, 1916. Serial No. 80,774.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RICHARD MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Appleton, county of Outagamie, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bowling-Pins, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in bowling pins.

Numerous attempts have heretofore been made to construct bowling pins from a plurality of'wooden members secured together to form a balanced pin having all portions thereof which receive the impact of the bowling balls uniform in quality and hardness. The scarcity of material adapted for the construction of one piece homogeneous bowling pins makes it extremely desirable that a sectional pin be devised, which will not-only be durable, but well balanced.

The objectof my invention is to provide a form of construction in which the pin may be formed of a plurality of pieces or members so assembled as to secure a perfectly balanced pin, and in which the several parts will cooperate with each other in a manner to reduce the tendency of any portion of the pin to split or break away from other portions thereof under the impact of the balls.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of a bowling pin embodying my invention, said vertical section being drawn to a plane exposing the central core piece. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the same, drawn on line ww of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view,

drawn to the same plane but showing a modified form of construction. Fig. 4 is a view of the lower end of the pin, showing the ebonized base.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

A central core piece A includes the base A of the pin and also the upper end orhandle A. The bulge portion of the pin which receives the impact of the balls, includesa set of balanced members or covering blocks which are interlocked with the central portion of the pin and glued thereto. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, two wooden blocks B and C are each provided with a longitudinal recess adapted,

to receive one half of the core portion A, to which they are connected by internal dowel pins D and E, socketed in the covering blocks and also in the core portion A, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The meeting faces of these blocks are also preferably connected by dowel pins F socketed in the opposing faces. The contacting faces of the blocks and of the core piece A, are also glued together, after which the pin is contoured in a lathe. The covering blocks or facing pieces B and C are exactly alike and are weighed and balanced before being applied to the core piece A. By properly centering the core piece in the lathe, the balancemay be preserved in the finished block, the covering pieces being reduced in equal proportions during the contouring operation. The pin is thereupon placed in a vertical position upon a hot plate and rotated until the bottom or lower surface is thoroughly ebonized, thereby hardening the lower surface and also reducing the tendency of the central core to split.

In Fig. 3, each face of the core is provided with a covering member, four balanced covering members G, H, I and J being employed. The meeting faces of these covering members are in planes which bisect the angles formed by the corners of the central core-piece A and at the bulge portion of the pin. The thickness of the covering members G, H, I and J, is sufiicient at these corners to adequately cover and protect the core piece A and to avoid splitting where the covering members meet, there being no thin edges to split away in any portion of the pin which is subject to the impact of the balls.

In Figs. 1 and 2, the covering blocks or members B and C are anchored to the central core piece by four dowel pins on each side of the center, two of which dowel pins are in a plane which cuts the axis of the pin, and the other two being in a horizontal plane but on opposite sides of said axial plane. The horizontal plane is preferably the central plane of the bulge. In Fig. 3, the dowel pins L are all located in planes which cut the central axis of the pin. The exact location of these dowel pins is not essential, but I attach great importance to the fact that all the dowel pins are wholly concealed, so that the outer surface of the pin is entirely homogeneous. The central core piece is preferably formed of maple wood selected from the heart portion of the tree. The covering blocks are preferably formed of live wood (or white wood), taken from the outer portion of the tree, maple being preferred. This not only furnishes additional security against splitting, owing to the fact that the core piece and the covering pieces are of different quality, but it also gives to the pin a neat and attractive appearance.

lVith my improved pin, an exact balance of all parts may be easily secured by grooving the cover faces of either the core piece or one or more of the covering pieces. In Fig. 2, I have illustrated the core piece A as having a pair of countersunk sockets a formed in one of the walls thereof for balancing purposes.

I claim- 1. A bowling pin comprising the combination with a central core, of a set of covering members inclosing a portion of the core and forming the bulge portion of the pin, said covering members having meeting faces in a plane which intersects the core.

2. A bowling pin comprising the combination with a central core, of a set of covering members inclosing a portion of the core and forming the bulge portion of the pin, said covering members being longitudinally channeled to receive the core and having meeting faces in a plane which intersects the core.

3. A bowling pin comprising the combination with a central one piece core provided with an integral base, of a set of covering members inclosing a portion of the core and forming the bulge portion of the pin, said covering members being balanced,

and secured to the core, and also having surfaces of adjacent members in abutting contact, extending inwardly from the outer surface of the bulge portion of the pin in planes which intersect the planes of contact between the covering members and the core.

4. A bowling pin comprising the combination with a central core, of a set of covering members inclosing a portion of the core and forming the bulge portion of the pin, and a set of dowel pins connecting the covering members with the core, said dowel pins being socketed in the meeting faces of the covering members and core member and extending only partially through each of said members, said covering members also having flat surfaces in contact with adjacent covering members in planes which include the axis of the pin, and dowel pins connecting said meeting portions of the covering members.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD MILLER. Witnesses:

LEVERETT C. WHEELER, IRMA D. BREMER. 

